Counselor gets 103 years for child abuse

NEW YORK

Updated 11:04 pm, Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Nechemya Weberman, 54, was convicted of molesting a girl from age 12 until she was 15.

Nechemya Weberman, 54, was convicted of molesting a girl from age 12 until she was 15.

Photo: Bebeto Matthews, Associated Press

Counselor gets 103 years for child abuse

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New York --

An esteemed religious counselor in New York City's ultra-orthodox Jewish community was sentenced Tuesday to 103 years in prison for molesting a girl who came to him with questions about her faith.

Nechemya Weberman was convicted in December of 59 counts, including sustained sexual abuse of a child, endangering the welfare of a child and sexual abuse. He testified in his own defense, saying he "never, ever" abused the girl, and maintained his innocence at sentencing.

His trial put a spotlight on the ultra-orthodox community and its strict rules that govern clothing, social customs and interaction with the outside world. Weberman, 54, and the accuser belonged to the Satmar Hasidic sect in Brooklyn.

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The girl's school had ordered her to see Weberman because she had been asking questions about her religion and was dressing immodestly in violation of customs, and he was to help her get back on the right path. Weberman wasn't a licensed counselor but spent decades working in his community.

The accuser, now 18, had testified that Weberman abused her repeatedly behind his locked office door from the time she was 12 until she was 15.

"I clearly remember how I would look in the mirror," she said at Tuesday's sentencing, her small voice shaking. "I saw a girl who didn't want to live in her own skin, a girl whose innocence was shattered, a girl who couldn't sleep at night."

She said she was speaking for others who had been victimized by Weberman but lacked the courage to come forward. Weberman hasn't been charged in any other molestation case.

Judge John Ingram praised the teen's courage, saying he also hoped it would set an example for other victims of sexual abuse.

The teen and her family have been harassed and ostracized, reflecting long-held beliefs that any conflict must be dealt with from within. During the trial, men were arrested on charges they tried to bribe the accuser and the victim's husband to drop the case. The court received dozens of letters from supporters of the defendant. They described his life in the community as a counselor and a father, and many proclaimed his innocence.

Weberman said "no thank you" when asked if he wished to speak.

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